Hungary wants to remove eight people from EU sanctions against Russia

EU diplomats say that Hungary wants to remove 8 individuals from the European Union’s Russia sanctions list, and to receive new guarantees regarding Ukraine gas transit negotiations before it agrees to renew restrictions.

EU sanctions against Russia, imposed because of Moscow's war on Ukraine, must be renewed by unanimous vote every six months. Budapest has used this renewal as a bargaining opportunity.

Peter Szijjarto, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote on Facebook on Monday that Budapest "would not consent to moving forward" in extending sanctions against individuals.

Two frameworks are used to sanction Russia, and they need to be renewed at different intervals. The first is economic and the second is a list with over 2,400 names of individuals and companies that have their assets frozen and are banned from traveling.

Due to the nature of the discussions, the diplomats refused to reveal the names of those individuals whom Hungary wishes to expel.

The Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU made no comment.

Budapest, which maintained close relations with Moscow throughout the war, blocked the renewal of economic sanctions in January. This included the immobilisation and freezing of assets of Moscow's Central Bank. After the European Commission agreed that Hungary should be included in the talks on resuming the gas transit from Ukraine to the EU, an agreement was reached.

On January 1, Russian gas flow through Ukraine was halted when Ukraine's transit agreement with Russia's Gazprom gas company expired.

Szijjarto informed reporters on Monday that despite Budapest not being included in the meeting with Slovakia or Ukraine, the Commission has not fulfilled its commitment.

The Commission announced that it would include Hungary in its discussions.

This meeting was planned to take place in this format. A spokesperson for the Commission said that it was still willing to work with Hungary to explore alternative routes and supply sources to Europe. (Reporting and editing by Ros Russell; Additional reporting by Andrew Gray, Lili Bayer, and Julia Payne)

(source: Reuters)